PETs have the potential to unlock trustworthy data-driven innovation across sectors. However, there remain barriers to their adoption including regulatory challenges, technical expertise and how to embed them in good organisational practice. In this session, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the Royal Society and the UK’s Government Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) invite you to join a discussion on the challenges to lowering barriers to PETs adoption.
Attendees will be presented with a series of often-faced technical, organisational and cultural challenges that potential PETs adopters may encounter and discuss best practices for mitigating them. We are keen to hear perspectives from attendees about other potential barriers they have faced and suggestions for how the government and regulators can support PETs adoption.
The ICO, Royal Society and CDEI will also showcase the role of governments and public-private partnerships in this space. They will also look at how the UK government is leveraging PETs in practice, through new international initiatives, and policy and regulatory efforts.
Dave Buckley
Dave Buckley is a senior technology policy advisor at the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, which leads the UK Government's work to enable trustworthy innovation using data and AI. He leads the CDEI’s work on privacy enhancing technologies to support responsible data access. He has led the development of CDEI’s PETs Adoption Guide, has conducted research into novel data intermediaries, and has worked with teams across the UK public sector to provide advice and guidance on the responsible use of data-driven technologies in the social care sector and in tackling online harms. Prior to joining the CDEI, he worked in a number of software and data engineering roles in the private sector.
He holds a Masters in Physics from Oxford University, and a Masters in Digital Culture from King’s College London, where he conducted quantitative research into hate speech on social media.
Dr Mahi Hardalupas
Paul Comerford
Paul Comerford is a Principal Technology Adviser within the Technology and Innovation directorate at the ICO. Paul previously worked in academia as a lecturer, holding Computer Networks and Cyber security positions at several universities. Since joining the ICO in 2018, Paul is a lead on the development of UK GDPR guidance on anonymisation, pseudonymisation and also ICO PETs guidance published in September 2023.
Dr. June Brawner
Dr. June Brawner is a policy advisor at The Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences. She leads the Society’s work on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) within the Data and AI policy team, which is developing policy and promoting debate that helps the UK safely and rapidly realise the growing benefits of data science and digital technologies.
June’s career in academic and policy research spans the US, UK, and Central / Eastern Europe, with a focus on environmental data for policymaking. Prior to her current role she worked as a research consultant and has previously completed fellowships with the Fulbright Commission and Columbia University’s Council for European Studies.
As an anthropologist, June is especially interested in the ‘social life’ of data: the cultural and political factors that hinder or promote the equitable use of data for research, innovation, and decision-making. To this end, she sees upholding the right to privacy as a key technical and social challenge in using data for societal benefit.
